Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
| 15 July 2008 (USA)
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Trailers

Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain with his own video blog, is attempting to join the prestigious Evil League of Evil (led by the legendary "thoroughbred of sin", Bad Horse), but his plans are usually foiled by the egotistical superhero Captain Hammer. Dr. Horrible's life is thrown for a loop when he falls in love with Penny, a beautiful and optimistic advocate for the homeless he meets at the laundromat.

Reviews
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing
HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.
Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
jwiley-86292 After seeing how high the overall rating is on this, I felt compelled to give my honest opinion. I'll be going off of considerable memory, because I saw it a few years ago and I don't want to bother watching it a second time. The line between clever and obnoxious is thin indeed. I certainly didn't feel that Dr. Horrible was so smart that it went over my head. I felt it was tailored for an audience easy to make laugh. Much like the lyrics to Wicked, the lyrics to these songs sound unnatural to human speech (for example, the usage of the word "dolt,") like the writings of a pubescent nerd itching to show you how sophisticated he thinks he is. I should know. I was that kind of kid once. As for the composing, the orchestration is flat and un-musicianlike, more suited to Dora the Explorer. Something about the sound mixing rubs me the wrong way as well; I like voices in musicals to echo. The story didn't make me worry for it, in the first place because I don't take the superhero-and- villain setup seriously (CAMP!!) and in the second place because I don't like Harris or Felicia Day as screen personalities. From my high school friends' affection for the movie, I expected I should feel a connection, but it wasn't there. Now that I think about it, I know why. Your mileage may vary, but I despise the cliché of the gawky, immature male protagonist pining after a woman much more attractive and on top of things than him. It appalls me that even women tolerate this trope, as I find it demeans us. I have read a few anthropological, sociological and scientific texts embracing the fact that women gravitate towards "alpha males." Captain Hammer, of course, is both an alpha male and a jerk. Dr. Horrible is, dare I say. . . such a Nice Guy. So it's not sad that he kills the woman he loves. Wait a minute, is this supposed to be like a Greek tragedy where we're supposed to recognize the protagonist's fatal flaws? It doesn't matter, because I didn't enjoy watching it.
rcolgan The writers strike of 2008 saw many great shows like Scrubs and 30 rock have shorter seasons and lower quality to the point that the year saw many of the worst seasons of some of the best shows. However, all this was worth it as the strike allowed Joss Whedon to have the time needed to make this 45 minute masterpiece, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Obviously everyone knows Joss Whedons name. If you don't, then where have you been for the past 20 years? If he's not creating some of the most memorable TV characters like Captain Reynolds or Buffy, he's masterminding the entire Marvel Universe and directing blockbusters like The Avengers. But within this great body of work Dr Horrible is one of his most overlooked masterpieces with it's great soundtrack and story putting it not only amongst my favourite web series but also my favourite musicals. It's also a great piece showing Whedon's love of filmmaking as it is a labour of love done not for profit or critical acclaim, but rather for the sheer joy of filmmaking. It doesn't need a big 200 million dollar budget. It's just a great idea that has a lot of effort put in to it, making it all the more memorable. Part of the reason that Horrible is such a hit for those of us who watch it, is because of its brilliant range of songs. Whilst most musicals will probably have about 3-4 great memorable songs, every song in Dr Horrible is a pleasure to listen to. Each song has a great mixture of memorable lyrics and distinct styles that not only work effectively within the story by demonstrating the characters emotions but also are great to sing along to. But whilst they are all memorable, the stand out song in Dr Horrible is definitely it's finale "Everything You Ever". If you've already seen it you'll know why I picked this as my favourite. It's a song that really shows how great Joss Whedon is as a writer as it shows both how complex his characters are and demonstrates how he can switch between comedy and drama so easily within his stories. At the same time the song is great to just listen to due to it's distinct sound helping it to stand out on an already great soundtrack. But with any great song there must also be a great singer. And I would say that Neil Patrick Harris was probably the best choice for the role. Not only does he have the much needed vocal range to do all the songs justice, but also he has the needed likability. It's just impossible to hate Harris and because of this he makes the premise work by being a likable villain who we do feel sympathy for and even support once we see how much of a fool Captain Hammer is. Better yet, just like Whedon and the rest of the cast, Harris seems to love making every minute of this movie, making the characters both more believable and more likable. This is definitely a must see by any who have yet to watch it. You can enjoy watching it alone by keeping up with its emotional story and memorable characters or with others by singing along to those great songs and having a shoulder to cry on when things get emotional. It's funny, tragic and has just about everything you could possibly want from a musical.
dwagner2239 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is comprised of three acts, lasting around 14 minutes each. In the first act Dr. Horrible is trying to become a super villain and get recognized into the Evil League of Evil, which is led by Bad Horse. He is also in love with Penny, who he met in the Laundromat. And being as shy as he is, he hasn't gotten the courage up to talk to her yet. In order to be a part of the Evil League of Evil, Dr. Horrible has to pull off a major evil act or he will not be voted in. With his luck, as he is trying to steal the Wonderflonium that is needed for his Freeze Ray, he runs into Penny as she is trying to solicit people on the street to open a homeless people shelter. Just when Dr. Horrible thinks the robbery is completed, his nemesis, Captain Hammer, shows up and begins taking credit because he thought he stopped him in the van with his bare hands. Shortly after this, Hammer and Penny start singing to each other.In the next act, Dr. Horrible is watching them while they are on their dates. The scene goes back to Horrible and Penny talking in the Laundromat and she tells him she is going to go out with Hammer again. This is completely upsetting Horrible. So, Horrible is now back to his blog telling how he is now going to be a part of the Evil League of Evil because he has the Freeze Ray and Wonderflonium. Then he finds out that the LAPD and Hammer are watching his blog and knew ahead of time he was going to do evil and stopped him from succeeding. Now, Bad Horse calls Dr. Horrible and says the only way he can become a part of the Evil League of Evil is to assassinate someone. The story goes on to show Penny and Horrible talking again int he Laundromat when Hammer comes in and tells him his plans with Penny to make him mad and jealous.In the final act, Captain Hammer speaks at the opening of a homeless shelter where they are going to reveal the statue of him. He is bragging about himself and Penny tries slipping out from embarrassment. While he is still singing, Dr. Horrible blasts Hammer with his Freeze Ray and freezes him as the audience sits in shock. Horrible then taunts the audience and announces that they can't recognize that Hammer's cover is being blown and then he exposes a more deadly gun, the Death Ray. Horrible then aims it at Hammer, but the machine died and at that moment Hammer became unfroze and knocked Dr. Horrible to the ground. Hammer shoots Horrible with the Death Ray and it knocks him back and some of the shrapnel flies into Penny and she ends up dying. In essence, Dr. Horrible has committed the assassination needed to be voted into the Evil League of Evil. The story ends with Horrible wearing his new red coat and going into the room to sit with the other Evil league members, who he is now a part of.
casskab1121 At first hearing the title, Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, I was a little skeptical. It seemed like it was going to be a second rate children's musical. As soon as it opens with Dr. Horrible, played by Neil Patrick Harris, practicing his evil laugh, funny to say the least, I was immediately proved wrong. After the first few seconds I was enlightened to see Neil Patrick Harris cracking jokes as he read emails sent to him about his video blog and acting as a "horrible" doctor of evil. As the film continued I was overjoyed to see funny musical numbers sung by Dr. Horrible.In the first upbeat musical number we find that he is love with a girl, Penny, played by Felicia day. The song was sung in a surprisingly light and bouncy tone. One might think that a musical number sung by someone named Dr. Horrible, a super villain, would be dark and sinister but this movie is refreshingly contradictory in that way. As such it doesn't take long to figure out that the protagonist of this movie is actually the villain, Dr. Horrible who is trying to get into the Evil League of Evil. That means that the antagonist must be a super hero. Yes, that is right Captain Hammer, Dr. Horrible's arch nemesis played by Nathan Fillion, is the antagonist. Upon his entrance to the movie you can tell by his demeanor and the way he sings his part in the musical number that he is a womanizing, arrogant, self-absorbed super hero who, in this is movie, is actually the bad guy. His main purpose is to stop Dr. Horrible from achieving his evil goals and to keep him from getting the girl of his dreams, Penny. Penny is a sweet philanthropic girl who wants to help the homeless and no surprise Dr. Horrible is in love with her. His arch nemesis Captain Hammer rescues her and pursues her giving Dr. Horrible one more reason to want to destroy him.The ending is not as perfect as one might hope and it almost leaves something to be desired but it has a strong yet subtle message that everything comes at a cost. There are subtle messages strategically placed throughout the movie making it fun to watch over and over again because every time you watch it you find something new that you hadn't seen previously. If you add the hidden messages and girl drama to a superhero-villain dynamic plus a catchy musical score you have a show that is funny, refreshing and well worth watching. This show is a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover or, in this case, a movie by its title.